Thanks to the decision to keep this year’s pick or risk sending an even better first-rounder to the Colorado Avalanche in 2019,* the looming draft weekend was already going to present the Ottawa Senators with tough questions.

In short, they took further measures to adamantly refuse involvement in the harassing messages.

Some interesting additional details surface as Caryk claimed that she first learned of the accusations late in the regular season (March 22), which eventually led to a discussion between Mike Hoffman and Erik Karlsson during a practice. Caryk says she received word from Taylor Winnik, wife of Daniel Winnik.

“I got a horrific email from a girl named Taylor Winnik, and I believe her husband plays in the NHL, saying that I’m a horrible and disgusting person, accusing me of writing negative stuff about the fact that Erik and Melinda lost their child,” Caryk said. “It’s all untrue. Just to state the facts. That was the first time that I was aware of any of this.”

It’s unclear what the next twists will be in that scandal. Either way, the Senators were already rumored to be shopping Hoffman (and possibly still looking to trade Karlsson), so this only heightens that need. Naturally, the Senators are unlikely to get full value for Hoffman thanks to this crisis.

What’s next?

Again, it’s fair to point out that the Senators were already in a position where it would make sense to trade both Karlsson and Hoffman even before this situation surfaced publicly.

Hoffman’s agent Robert Hooper told the Ottawa Citizen that he hopes the situation gets resolved quickly, but therein lies the challenge. With the investigation(s) ongoing, will a team be willing to deal with questions about the situation? If nothing else, a new team would want some assurance that the situation would be put behind Hoffman. They’d face the type of questions sports teams hate to deal with even if that’s so.

For what it’s worth, Garrioch reports that as many as 10 teams are interested in trading for Hoffman, with the Buffalo Sabres reportedly being in especially hot pursuit. He also reports that the New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks and Arizona Coyotes are joined by several Central Division teams (Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild) as among those inquiring about the winger.

The Senators also must grapple with Karlsson’s future. Would he sign a contract extension, preferably during this summer, a time when the franchise is in desperate need for positive news? How much would Karlsson’s trade value sink if they had to move him, but he’d still want to pursue unrestricted free agency instead of signing a deal with his new team? Would the Senators keep him around for 2018-19 alone in part to save face and avoid giving the Avalanche a high-end draft pick as part of the Matt Duchene trade?

* – Garrioch reports that the Senators are expected to keep their 2018 first-rounder (fourth overall), which means they’d send their 2019 first-round pick to Colorado.

An awful time; Lee update

A lousy follow-up to a run within one overtime goal of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final now feels more like a minor setback for the Senators, considering all the toxic news surrounding the organization.

That said, the questions that must be answered by Randy are unlikely to be addressed until his next court date – on July 6, 2018 – we believe the best way to live our values and enforce our standards of behavior is to suspend Randy Lee until the allegations against him are ruled upon by the courts.

Less than two weeks later, this long-brewing issue between Caryk and Karlsson prompted the filing of that protection order. The Senators now have little choice but to trade Hoffman, and might be wise to move Karlsson.

Those major events were the most jarring, yet it’s really staggering to consider the mass of other negative developments, some of which stand as unforced errors.

After leaving a gig in the front office, Senators icon Daniel Alfredsson expressed a hope many fans have expressed: Eugene Melnyk no longer being the team’s owner. Many of those fans put up a “Snow Must Go”-like billboard calling for Melnyk to do just that.

Following that brutal 2017-18 campaign, Dorion kept embattled head coach Guy Boucher around, yet he also threw him under the bus and essentially acknowledged that Boucher is on thin ice.

Things only get odder and worse the deeper you dig on this team. Just about anyone can see that this has been a disastrous year or so for the Senators, though.

It’s difficult to believe that Karlsson set up Hoffman for a beautiful goal only about a year ago.

Three stars

Bishop and his backup edge Hart here due to the fact that Bishop got run over by Calgary Flames forward Garnet Hathaway, forcing him to leave the game in the second period with the Stars up 1-0.

Khudobin held down the fort while Bishop was getting checked out to close out the second period.

Bishop would only miss about six-and-a-half minutes as he led Dallas back onto the ice in the third and resumed where he left off. The duo combined for 24 saves for the shutout as Dallas won 2-0, making some history in the process.

2. Carter Hart, Philadelphia Flyers

Hart made history as he stepped onto the ice in his NHL debut, becoming the Flyers’ sixth goalie to appear in their first 35 games. That’s not a great record to hold, but he’ll be in the annals of hockey history for a while, I’d imagine.

History or not, Hart was solid in his inauguration. He turned aside 20 saves as he and newly-minted head coach Scott Gordon picked up their first wins at their respective positions.

Hart is facing a lot of pressure here. He’s dubbed as the future in Philly and for good reason. Some call the City of Brotherly Love a graveyard for goaltenders. Perhaps Hart can buck the trend. Who knows.

The Sharks netminders earned his first shutout of the season, making 26 saves for career goose egg No. 20. Jones’ save percentage this season has left a bit more to be desired, so Tuesday’s effort was a good refresher for fans on what he’s capable of.

San Jose has now won five in a row as they continue their ascent to the top of the Pacific Division.

Other notable performances:

Evgenii Dadonov had two goals and an assist in Florida’s 5-2 win over the Sabres.

Who knew the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Vancouver Canucks harbored so much hate for one another?

Wherever it came from, the apparent bad blood between the two teams was certainly flowing at a steady pace on Tuesday night in Vancouver.

Things were going well until around the 12-minute mark of the second period. It was then that Antoine Roussel landed a big hit on Lightning star Yanni Gourde.

Gourde, not impressed with being turnbuckled, took exception and the two squared off. He got five for fighting and a 10-minute misconduct. Roussel was assessed two for roughing and five for fighting.

From there, Canucks defenseman was forced out of the game after an apparent head shot from Lightning forward Danick Martel.

Martel was skating back through the neutral zone when he saw that Stecher had the puck near the boards. The hit looked innocuous at first, but replays showed that Martel seemed to extend his shoulder into Stecher’s head.

Stecher left the game and the Canucks said he wouldn’t return.

With tempers already boiling, things got completely out of hand with under a minute left in the period.

So Tuesday’s 2-1 win at home at United Center against the mighty Nashville Predators on NBCSN, however insignificant it ends up being at the end of the season, was a welcomed change.

If recent history is to be believed, the Blackhawks might have even been slight favorites heading into the game.

Nashville began the season a perfect 8-0-0 outside of Tennessee, but have now lost eight in a row (0-6-2) since. They’re also pretty banged up, so that helped, too.

Despite Nashville’s shortcomings on the road this as of late, it shouldn’t take away from Chicago’s performance.

They played a tight, offensive-minded game, outshooting the Predators 36-31, including 16-7 in the second period as they erased Nashville’s 1-0 lead and replaced it with a 2-1 advantage of their own.

Any hope of the Blackhawks not falling further from grace rests in the hands of Cam Ward at this point.

With Crawford out, Ward will be leaned on to provide the best netminding he can.

On Tuesday, he did just that, turning aside 30 shots. Ward was especially solid in the third, including the last two-and-a-half minutes of the third after the Preds pulled Pekka Rinne for the extra attacker.

Other things that went well: Chicago’s last-ranked power play was 1-for-3, producing five shots on goal. Their last-ranked penalty kill was 2-for-2, allowing just two shots on goal.

It all equates on some good stuff to build on. It’s been a while since Chicago produced an effort like that. The blueprint is there.

Dallas Stars fans were able to breathe a sigh of relief as the team came out for the third period on Tuesday.

Nearing the mid-way point fo the second period, Calgary Flames forward Garnet Hathaway went to challenge Bishop, who was playing the puck behind the net.

Bishop was able to move the puck to his defenseman but the incoming Hathaway’s shoulder caught him in the mask. The impact knocked Bishop over and he was slow to get up before being pulled from the game.

Here’s the hit:

Hathaway was given a two-minute minor for goaltender interference. Stars defenseman Roman Polak got a roughing minor after going after Hathaway following the hit.

Bishop stopped all nine shots he faced in the 33:37 he played. Anton Khudobin logged 6:23 in relief before Bishop led the Stars out for the third period.

Bishiop had a 10-8-1 record coming into Tuesday with a .920 save percentage. The Stars were leading 2-0 in the third.